Wheels of Faith: Pleasing God through Divine Alignment

As I was deciding on a topic for today - I landed on Faith, a favorite topic of study after God. I mean God and Faith are so linked…

The Word tells us that without Faith it’s impossible to please God- (Hebrews 11:6)…and I’ve learned that word “please” in the Greek isn’t talking about whether God is happy with you or not.

It’s telling us that without believing that God is, and believing that He is who He says He is - it’s impossible to be Aligned with Him…and to that end it’s impossible to receive from Him.

And I get it. I hear so many people quietly admit that they can’t hear God…that’s it’s hard to connect with Him on their own..and in my own life I realize why those times have shown up.

We’ve been trained here in the visible world to stay focused on what we can connect with through our physical senses; and not taught how to discern what’s going on within us.

So as New Creations in Christ we need training. We’re triune beings, Spirit, Soul and Body, but connecting to the eternal part of us - our Spirit and Soul, takes a higher, finer sensitivity. An emotional and mental sensitivity of our inner world; the Unseen. 

Because aligning with God has everything to do with being tuned in with ourselves - particularly in our thoughts, emotions, imaginations and expectations; all aspects of the Soul - but I consider them aspects that we can readily connect with, to begin to strengthen our Faith.

For a brief review, I’ve discovered that the Soul (which Faith flows through) has nine main aspects at different levels of depth…it starts with the Mind, Will and Emotions. Next down is how you reason, your imagination and how you’ve been educated to believe. Then comes the next level down which is foundational: your memories, who you think you are/how you identify to yourself, and finally what you actually expect from yourself, others, God all of it… (Check out the book for deeper understanding…The Soul Factor https://a.co/d/6emWwqZ )

The Word of God tells us so much about Faith: that’s it’s a substance, that it’s evidence. And I believe it’s part of the power that God has given us that keeps us fearless, and it’s part of the power that God gave us to get wealth. And yet - it’s challenging because  it’s invisible!

But I have to side bar here for a moment and make a distinction between belief and Faith. Belief is close to Faith, and the two words are often used interchangeably- but they’re different because they come from two different sources.

Belief is what you’ve accepted as true and expect based on life experiences, and how you’ve been educated to believe here in the seen world. Where again, Faith is what you’ve accepted as true and expect based on God’s Word; from the Unseen.

Both Faith and belief are impartial, because God gave mankind Freewill. So you can expect and believe in whatever you choose.

Take health and healing for example. The world tells you to expect to get sick and decay as you age. The Word of God tells you that as a New Creations in Christ, you’re grafted into a Divine bloodline where sickness can’t even occur. But you have to know that Truth and believe it. Promises don’t automatically show up in your life.

But let’s say you do expect the Promises of God; that you want what God has for you. How do you actually live in such as way as to stay aligned and actually see that promise come to pass in your life?

Building your Faith

The Word tells us “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

So Faith and beliefs are planted from what you’re looking at and listening to, what you talk about, and from the company you keep. I have to stress here, The Soul is very much impacted by what you say, because when you speak is when experiences get set into motion:  “Thou shalt decree a thing, and it will be established for you.” (Job 22:28)

So as a New Creation in Christ, made in the image and likeness of God, you’ll need to start to manage the power that lies within your thoughts, emotions, imagination and expectations; as well as your words and actions. Because Faith has so much to do with your heart, your intentions, motives and emotions; not only words and deeds.

And the other thing about Faith? It works by Love (Gal. 5:6). Just as God is Love and Faith is an aspect of God, you have to walk in Love. Not that any of us will ever be perfect at this, but becoming a more Loving person is huge when it comes to living by Faith. 

When I first understood this I was skeptical that my Faith would ever work! I had such an inner critic that was constantly ready to unleash on others, if it wasn’t busy berating me.

But Holy Spirit gave me a really good tip here...

The Bible tells us that “Love is Patient and Love is Kind”. He helped me see those as the two main “ingredients” of love. He told me that if I could just work on being patient and kind, first and foremost with myself, I could build from there. And that’s really helped me. 

The Bible tells us that we walk by Faith, but for me, Faith has always felt more like a more like a vehicle, like a car.

So when I really started to go for my Faith, Holy Spirit led me to these four “wheels” that I need to keep turning throughout the day to keep moving forward and stay on track. These four “wheels” are how I stay connected with what’s really going on within my heart and Soul during the day.

THE FOUR WHEELS OF FAITH 

1. Seek First the Kingdom- this is setting my heart and mind on The new reality Jesus gives us access to. To God, His standards and His way of doing and being right.

   
   

2. Stay in Love - keeping myself in a place of patience and kindness with myself and others.

   
   

3. Trust and Obey - this is staying tuned in with Holy Spirit, staying yielded and following His instruction; regardless of whether it “makes sense” in the moment or not.

   
   

4. Stay out of the Results- the results are up to God, the actions are up to me. One man plants, one waters, but it’s God that brings the increase! (1Corinth. 3:6)

   
   

I have to say as you strive to keep all of these wheels turning, Staying in Love will be challenged - a lot. There will be people you work with, talk with on the phone, in your family, drivers on the road,…people who are just down right potholes! So don’t be surprised- 

Because the enemy uses people and situations to attempt to throw you off your love walk, slow you down, and sometimes make you have to start all over again on the journey of your harvest!

All of the wheels will be challenged, but in addition to the Love Walk, Divine Timing was another big challenge for me - still is at times.

Looking back I can see that I struggled with immediate gratification my entire life. I just never out grew it. Whatever the pursuit, I always had that “are we there yet?” mentality running along side; and God just doesn’t work that way. 

The Bible tells us that as long as Earth remains there will be seed, time and harvest (Gen. 8:22).

But then again....God is a God of suddenly, straightway and immediately! 

So Faith is a lifestyle that requires a sense of adventure and great trust, since the results, the “when” is completely up to God. And it’s hard not to rush or resist the process. (so don't beat yourself up for that)

Our role is to stay focused on the obedience, the heart set and the deeds of Faith that will bring that greater result to pass - in God’s timing.

But I’ll say it again, when all else fails, stay in Love! Because God is not just loving, He IS Love. And as such, God is concerned with the relationship with you first, not your idea of being perfect. So if you run ahead, find yourself complaining, or gossiping at the coffee shop- just acknowledge it to God, forgive yourself and get back on track.

RECAP:

Faith is definitely a lifestyle, and knowing the wheels and maintaining them is a great way to begin:

Seek first the Kingdom, trust and obey, stay in the love and stay out of the results…and I would add today gratitude as the “steering wheel”.

Living by Faith is truly a transformation in your preferences and priorities, with Jesus at the center. It’s a lifestyle of gratitude and patience and listening…of starting to become aware of not just what you’re speaking and doing, but how you’re feeling and thinking; knowing your thoughts and intentions.

This is the beginning of pleasing God, of staying aligned with Him, as you begin to live by Faith and manifest His Promises in your life.